1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the art of wire working and ties of such required around steel reinforcing bars in concrete structures.
2. Description of Prior Art
The present invention may have many applications. The uses of said invention should not be limited to those specifically set forth in the following disclosure.
Wire ties around steel reinforcing bars have been made by manual means using handheld pliers. This causes great worker fatigue and injuries due to repetitive movement syndrome. There has been a long felt need to mechanize this process and work for the reasons mentioned above and also a lessening of fatigue will result in increased production and hence lower costs in performing the operations of making ties about steel reinforcing bars used in concrete structures. Many prior attempts have been made to design devices to perform the function of making wire ties for said steel bars used as reinforcing in concrete structures, but these prior designs have not been commercially successful due to their heavy weight and many precision parts, which are expensive and slow the machine cycle time and are awkward due to the means of being powered.
Prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,187 to K. Paule, et.al., Oct. 12, 1965, shows complex heavy mechanical controls. Similarly, the patent issued to James E. Ward, U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,688 Jun. 28, 1971, entails a device which utilizes fluid pressure as a driving force which requires many heavy, slow parts to function. Similar prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,872 to Hans Gott, et.al., of Austria, Oct. 3, 1978, is improved but still requires heavy mechanical linkages and externally rotating parts (jaws) which are dangerous and may injure the operator or catch on an obstruction, interrupting the machine's cycle, compared to the present embodiment of the proposed invention which has no externally exposed parts.
Another prior art reference is U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,192 to Donn B. Furlong, et.al., issued Dec. 7, 1982. In this machine, constant rotation of much of the drive mechanisms consume high quantities of energy. Also, the configuration and small size of the clamping and cutting jaw openings would require precise placement and guidance of the wire. This is difficult to achieve due to the stiff nature of the wire which tends to link and deform--making it impossible to precisely guide through small openings.
Further prior art disclosed is the U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,535 to Robert Y. Powell, et.al., dated Oct. 19, 1982, again utilizing heavy pneumatic drive means and many moving parts which wear and are slow in movement.
Additional prior art reference is Forest M. Sarff, et.al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,204 issued Apr. 29, 1975. This device entails many mechanical moving parts.